Marriage Proposal
by Akira-sun
Summary: The answer to "Will you marry me" can change depend on who is the one asking the question. Hermione/Severus, established relationship.


Severus was not a man easily thrown off guard or embarrassed. He took pride in the fact that he didn't blush or get hot in the face when he was put in an awkward situation. But his pride lay shattered into tiny pieces as the pink color of an awkward blush flowed into his face along with a dazed and bewildered expression. If he could only see himself, he was sure it was a strange sight to behold indeed. Hermione, on the other hand, seemed quite happy with herself and her bold declaration. He could feel every last pair of eyes upon him that resided in the Great Hall, judging him every which way only made Severus loose his train of thought.

"Could you say that one more time, Professor Granger?" Severus asked shakily. He focused on putting all his efforts on not losing his mind once again while she repeated herself once more.

"Severus Snape, will you marry me?" she held her head up high like the proud woman she was. His seeming to be stalling showed no visible effect on the bright witch's demeanor. She stood her ground in the middle of the Hall during dinner for all the school to see. Severus could never understand why she did some of the things she did but there was always a point and a purpose to it, whatever strange reason possessed her this evening was surely elusive to him.

"No," Severus finally replied sharply. The collective gasp and the utter silence was deafening to Severus' ears. Hermione's expression turned from one of pure exhilaration to one of complete despair. It was clear she was making an effort not to run out in haste at the sudden turn of events. The look she gave Severus clearly demanded an explanation to his simple, outright refusal. Severus remained defiantly silent despite the protesting looks he received from every teacher at the staff table and most of the Gryffindor's.

"Are you doing this out of pure spite and hatred of love, Severus? You are throwing away the best thing that has ever happened to you with a single word!" Remus spat. His anger wracked the werewolf's body at Severus' bull headed nature coming back at full force. Remus refrained from outright slapping the man next to him despite the fact that it might have done both of them some good. Severus walked around the staff table and slowly met his lover where she was firmly rooted into the spot she was frozen in. Anger flared up first in her dark brown eyes and it was eventually taken over by a defeated sadness.

"That's all I'm going to get is a 'no'?" Hermione asked in a whimper. Her voice was soft in her effort not to allow it to crack with emotion. "I deserve happiness too, Severus! I want to be married to you and have a family. You knew that from the beginning and you just let me believe you would eventually want that too just to have a warm bed for a while! If you can't give me what I need now then I'm done with all of this and you. So, I ask you one more time- Will you marry me?"

"The question isn't if _I_ want to marry _you_. The answer to that has always been a 'yes' without a doubt in my mind. My 'no' is not a denial of the idea of marriage but you asking the question of me. The real question to be asked is if you will be the one marrying _me_?" Severus dropped to his knees and took his lovers hands in his larger ones while she began to sob. Unable to find her voice, Hermione nodded furiously and leapt into his arms. The uproar fell upon them but they didn't hear the cheers showering on them. Severus pulled a loose string off the cuff of his robes and knotted it around her long fingers. "Until I can find you the perfect one, love."

"This is the best I could hope for, Severus. I don't care what any silly ring looks like as long as it was you who gives it to me." He swung her up into his arms again and carried her the entire way to his living quarters without caring about the implications. His world consisted of only one other soul for the rest of the night and what she needed was his only worry for the time being. Propriety could go to hell for all Severus Snape could care as long as Hermione would be his.


End file.
